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- [00:00]
Dr. Manny Arango
Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango and I'm your host for the Bible Department podcast powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the Journey family. We are in Second Corinthians, and today we are going to go through Second Corinthians, chapter 1, 2, and 3. Tomorrow we got two Corinthians, chapter 4, 5, 6, and 7, and then chapters 8 and 9, and then chapters 10, 13. So we'll be in two Corinthians for four days. If you haven't done today's reading, this is a good place to pause this episode and go do the day's reading. I always love to say this is a supplement, not a substitute. This video is here to supplement your daily Bible reading, not to substitute the daily Bible reading. And the the episodes will make more and more sense if you actually do the reading for that day. So context. Okay. 1 Corinthians kind of left off with some plans. Okay. First, Paul said that he was going to actually come visit them. We, we actually talked about that when we were in the episode on the end of 1 Corinthians, chapters 15, 16. Paul said he was going to come visit them. And Paul's plans have changed. Paul actually was not able to visit them. Now here's what happens in Paul not visiting them. There are some super apostles, there are some itinerant speakers that come to the Corinthians and they start pulling the Corinthians heart away from Paul and towards them. And so Paul actually sends Timothy to go check on this church. Because imagine, imagine spending 18 months plowing the ground. Imagine spending 18 months pioneering a church, being a spiritual father and a pastor and a minister and a mentor to this church. And now you've changed plans. You said you were gonna come visit them. You weren't able to. And just because you weren't able to visit, there are people who are now come in that have turned these people's hearts away from you. There's a statistic that I actually would love to tell you. 1600 ministers resign from the ministry every single month. And it's because, like, dealing with sheep can be really difficult. And Paul does it with a lot of love and a lot of care. So here we go. Let's keep going with context. Paul promises he's going to visit. He's not able to visit. He's going to Talk about why those plans got changed in this chunk right here in chapters one through three. But he sends Timothy, and Timothy's not going to come back with a good report. Timothy comes back, is like, oh, these super apostles are talking really bad about you. They are actually turning the heart of the Corinthians against you. And therefore, me and these super apostles are really trying to, like, usurp authority in this church. And so 2 Corinthians actually alludes to an additional letter and an additional visit. I want you to go to 2 Corinthians 2, verse 1, and I'll read it to you. It says this. So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? So Paul says, I've already made a painful visit to you. So that painful visit could have been the visit with Timothy. It could be that he did make a very short visit because he was really, really concerned about the health and vitality of this church. It seems like there are some people in the church that have read, heard first Corinthians, the first letter that we have, and they've changed. They've repented. And it seems like there's some people who have not repented, who have not changed. And not only have they not changed, their condition has gotten worse. Because now there are these super apostles who have come into the church, and they've really started to teach some negative things against Paul and about Paul. So also go to 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 3 and 4. It says this. Praise be to the God of our Father, Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. What you need to hear there is. There's this Greek word called parakaleo, and it's the word for comfort. And it's actually used 29 times just in Second Corinthians alone. And so Paul is gonna have a tone or words of rebuke in this letter, but his tone is gonna be trying to comfort them, because Paul's heart is really reconciliation. He wants to reconcile with the Corinthians. He's had a painful visit. There's probably another letter that has happened. There's a lot of turmoil with this relationship, and Paul is really fighting for the relationship. And I can commend that. It feels like some super apostles have come into the church. They've really thrown the church into confusion. There's obviously a lot of Christians in the church who love Paul, but there are a lot of Christians in the church who are creating division and factions. As we know from 1 Corinthians, it's a really, really tough situation. I want us to read 2 Corinthians, chapter 7, verse 8 through 12. And it says this. Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while yet. Now I am happy. Not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance, for you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. But worldly sorrow brings death. And then he goes on. So there was a sorrowful letter. This is what a lot of people would say is 3 Corinthians. This sorrowful letter in that what we call 2nd Corinthians is actually 4 Corinthians, I know that that's a little bit confusing, but 1 Corinthians talks about a letter, so that would actually make First Corinthians, Second Corinthians, and then Second Corinthians talks about a letter, which would make that Third Corinthians and Second Corinthians actually Fourth Corinthians. I said that perfect. And I'm still confused. But, like, it's just a confusing idea that there are letters that have been lost, and there those letters get alluded to in the letters that we actually have with us. And so that's our. A lot of context. If you're wondering, okay, what's our context clue for today? Our context clue is that Timothy has gone to this church first. The letter that we know of First Corinthians has worked, but not really. Paul has clearly sent another letter, which would be a sorrowful letter or painful letter. There may have been a short visit by Paul, and now Timothy is giving a report to Paul that is prompting this letter, which we know as 2 Corinthians. And Paul is earnestly fighting for the relationship in the middle of a lot of rebuke and a lot of correction. It's not lost on us that this is also a letter of comfort. Paul is really, really vulnerable in this letter, as we're gonna see. He's not just angry or mad at them. He's perplexed by them. He's confused by them. And. And I think Paul's hurt by the Corinthians, and he's going to express that hurt. I know for me, sometimes when I'm hurt. It's easier to express anger than it is to express hurt. Because sometimes anger makes you feel kind of, you know, strong. It's a defense mechanism. And if you really kind of uncover why someone's angry, really, it's that they are hurt. They're hurting, they feel rejected, they feel like their work was in vain, they feel disrespected, they feel dishonored, they feel like a relational fracture. And there's pain there. I know I'm an 8 on the enneagram. And a lot of times it's easier for me to express anger than it is for me to express pain and hurt and disappointment.
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Unknown Speaker
What if I told you that what you're learning in this video was just.
- [09:10]
Dr. Manny Arango
The tip of the iceberg?
- [09:12]
Unknown Speaker
The Bible department is actually powered by arma. What is arma? I'm so glad you asked. ARMA is an online subscription based platform that we designed to help people, everyday people learn the Bible for themselves. We started ARMA so that anybody, anywhere could have access to trustworthy and entertaining Bible and theology content. In addition to this podcast, we have over 60 courses on individual books of the Bible, on theology topics, and on some hot topics like homosexuality, tithing and women in ministry. But really, ARMA is a community. A community of people that I've gotten to know. A community where thousands of people are currently finding family, asking questions and nerding out on the Bible together. If you want a community to read the Bible with you this year, or if you want to dive into some deeper theological content, or if you want more exclusive access to me and the entire armor team, how about you go to thebibledepartment.com I'll be sure to post.
- [10:20]
Dr. Manny Arango
The link in the description of this video.
- [10:23]
Unknown Speaker
Let's make this your year to become a Bible nerd.
- [10:28]
Dr. Manny Arango
And so let's keep moving. Our nerdy nugget is that the word Parakaleo is used 29 times, which is the Greek word parallel for comfort. And so I actually want to give you a couple of E's that will kind of map out this book for us. Here's the first thing Paul opens up with. Encouragement. Comfort and encouragement are the same word in Greek. So there's encouragement. Then Paul's going to get into an explanation. Hey, here's why I didn't visit you. Okay? I know I told you I was going to visit you in my last letter and now these super apostles have come into the mix and are really highlighting the fact that I'm not a man of my word, but I'm telling you, I'm a man of my word. The issue is that God circumvents plans that God supersedes plans that, yes, I intended to visit you at a plan to visit you, but we have a travel ministry that God can change on a whim, and God didn't allow us to actually come see you. So we're gonna get a lot of, like, explanation for Paul. There's also an explanation surrounding the guy who was in an incestuous relationship with his father's wife. Paul says, hey, you guys did the right thing. You've excommunicated this brother, and he is now repentant. He's apologized, and it's time to let him back into the Christian community. And then in a couple of days, we'll get to Second Corinthians chapter 8, 9. And that entire portion is about the enlisting of the Corinthians to give to the church in Jerusalem. And then we're going to get to Second Corinthians, chapter 10 and 13, which is all about Paul establishing his apostolic authority. And so this opening movement is about encouragement and explanation. And then we're going to get into enlisting, and then we're going to get into establishing Paul's apostolic authority. He is going to defend himself against all of the things that these super apostles are saying. So these super apostles are really, like, they're causing a massive issue. And we will end with 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 15 says this because I was confident in this. I wanted to visit you first so that you may benefit twice. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and come back to you from Macedonia, and then have you send me on my way to Judea? Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say yes, yes, and no? No. But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not yes and no. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me and Silas and Timothy, was not yes and no, but in him it has always been yes. For no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes in Christ. And so through him, the Amen is spoken by us to the glory of God. What is the Amen? The Amen is, so let it be. And I think for a lot of us, Amen is something that we say prophetically, right? We prophesy Amen. But what Paul is saying here is that the Amen is a word of submission. That God, if you've said that I'm not supposed to go, then I'll say amen to whatever you are saying because I obey you. That's our timeless truth for the day. Of course we make plans. And it's actually kind of petty and sad that Paul has to defend why he told him he was going to do something and then is not doing it. But at the end of the day, I've learned as a leader that there are a lot of things that I think are petty, but it's a reason for the people that I'm leading to be offended. And so as a leader, I can't think that the reason that people are offended is petty. It's not petty if it's actually their real feelings. And so Paul, he explains, but then he takes it a level deeper. He doesn't just explain it on the surface. He then says, hey, when God says something, our job is to say amen. Not just prophetically about stuff that we're excited about, but also to say amen. Even when God changes plans, even when God throws a curveball, even when God says no about the things that we wanted to do, our response is to say amen. Amen. That's a timeless truth for me. There's a lot of things it's easy to say amen when God says you're going to be blessed. It's hard to say amen when you know that God is saying something that could disappoint others or could lead to offense or could be confusing. And these super apostles have swept in and they're looking for any reason to throw shade on Paul's name. And so Paul is coming in and he's explaining, but he's also trying to create within the culture of the Corinthians more maturity, which is why he doesn't just explain, but he uses as an opportunity to teach them what it actually looks like to follow the leading of the Lord and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And I think that is something that we can all learn from, especially if you're in leadership. Don't ever diminish why someone may be offended. I've been in ministry for a while, and sometimes I've been shocked at the things that people have been offended by. But it's not my position to validate why somebody's offended. It's my position to explain and then teach so that person becomes mature and to not really make it personal. And you're gonna see Paul do that throughout this letter, that Paul is probably really hurt. He's probably also offended. But Paul is navigating this relationship with the Corinthians because at the end of the day he wants to keep their relationship and reconcile. All right, tomorrow we get into Second Corinthians chapter four through seven. Good, good content like great passages of scripture, especially around the cross and substitutionary atonement and the Gospel. I can't wait to see you right here tomorrow as we go through the next four chapters of the book of 2 Corinthians. I'm so proud of you for going through the Bible this year. Let's keep moving through Second Corinthians. I'll see you right here tomorrow. Love you guys. Peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department podcast. You can find us online and learn more about the show at thebibledepartment.com and on Instagram hebible department. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of courses@thebibledepartment.com we'll see you back here tomorrow.